Nebraska Loses Badly at Ohio State

Husker fans had three concerns going into their game against OSU. First, would they be able to avoid penalties? They weren't. More importantly, could they avoid turnovers. They didn't. Finally, would they be able to stop the rushing threat posed by Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller. They couldn't. The result? A 63-38 loss on national television.

The game got off to a good start for the Huskers. They got out to a 17-7 lead behind two Ameer Abdullah touchdowns early in the second quarter. Miller responded with a big run to set up a score that closed the gap to 17-14. Then NU quarterback Taylor Martinez threw his second interception of the night to set up OSU's third touchdown (the first was a pick-six thrown by Martinez).

Nebraska would answer with a touchdown set up by a big Rex Burkhead run. The Buckeyes responded with a pair of touchdowns to end the half, giving them a 35-24 lead. NU responded with a touchdown drive keyed by a Kenny Bell reception to open the second half and close the gap to a 35-31 OSU advantage.

But the NU defense began to come apart. They surrendered a long drive capped by Carlos Hyde's third touchdown of the night. The next drive ended in a punt by Nebraska that was returned for a touchdown by Ohio State. A promising Husker drive was then ended when Taylor Martinez threw his third interception of the night. Only a Miller fumble kept the Buckeyes from scoring on the ensuing drive. But after a three and out by NU, OSU needed just three rushes to go 62 yards for another score that made it 56-31.

The Huskers answered with a touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the game. They still trailed 56-38. A Taylor Martinez fumble cost NU any chance to keep it closer and OSU head coach Urban Meyer opted to run it up rather than kneel out the clock to make the final 63-38. After five years with Bo Pelini at the helm, we've come to expect these kinds of outings. Too many penalties. Too many turnovers. Too few answers for a running quarterback.

The bye week will be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they can avoid a hangover, regroup, heal, and focus fully on Northwestern. But the loud and incessant negativity from the Husker fan base will be ringing in the ears of these players for a solid two weeks. Hopefully, that doesn't translate to their performance on the field. Northwestern won't have the benefit of a week off, so they may a bit tired going into their matchup with Nebraska. NU needs to take their anger and disappointment out on the Wildcats. Because unlike Ohio State, the Huskers can still win the Big Ten this year.

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105 comments so far

That was the most disgusting performance I’ve witnessed soup to nuts we suck. I wanted to give pelini some slack and Martinez. But that performance proves they are all average At best. Sad.

Dean
10/7/2012

To many turnovers again. . . Can’t keep this up guys. Also didn’t like the run up of the score. Under a min to go and you put up another, COME ON, we got the picture. Without Braxton they wouldn’t have won half there games. Buckeye fans better hope he doesn’t get hurt. . .

painterlad
10/7/2012

I think there were three major factors in tonight’s game. Obviously Miller is one. His running skill is beyond sick and his throwing is getting better with each game. The other factors were OSU’s defensive line and turnovers. I know a lot of Nebraska fans were concerned about turnovers and the four tonight killed them. Likewise, Buckeye fans were concerned about giving up the big plays and they gave up a ton. If not for the turnovers this game would have been close. Good luck the rest of the season.

I think most people knew going into the season we were a 8-9 win team at best, and tonight really showed that. We just don’t have the athletes on the defensive side of the ball to compete for a B1G title, plan and simple.

On a different note what a classless move at the end of the game by the OSU coaching staff….up 3 scores with under a minute left in the game and you punch one in?? Really??

nightdrifter05
10/7/2012

So, OSU running the score up against Nebraska is a big deal but Nebraska puttign up 73 wasn’t? Come on Nebraska fan’s, if you can’t take it don’t dish it out. You got what you deserved.

Thats funny….there is a huge difference between trying to score with under a min left when the game is in hand and beating a team 73-7 when your 3-4 string guys are in the game for 2 quarters…..

painterlad
10/7/2012

I’m not sure what to think of the last score. I love Tresselball, but it did get old when he would let teams back into it by not trying to score. Meyer is ruthless when it comes to scoring and that is just the way it is. The play was a simple run by Hyde and it seemed like Nebraska defenders simply quit on that particular play.

StevesdenverSteve
10/7/2012

I wish Ohio state would have scored more at the end. What are we a bunch of girls. Kickoff returns sucked. Punt returns typically crappy. Martinez reverts to girl throwing motion. Fumbles the bLl like a 5th grader. Beck thinks he can get the edge with bulkhead early. Takes awhile to clue in. Defense is built on guessing versus playing assignments. Pelini is pathetic at game management. We had these average buckeyeyes by the throat and then decided to spoon them.

mike
10/7/2012

As a huge osu slappy, you could not be more right Robert. I didn’t like what they did and it would have showed a lot of class to just take a knee.

StevesdenverSteve
10/7/2012

If we win the big ten we should do so sheepishly as it will be undeserved.

Mack
10/7/2012

Hard 2 say it but not surprised. Nebraska has yet to prove they can defend a team with a running quarterback. Won’t be surprise if Northwestern uses their running quarterback the whole time against us. We are looking at a rough next 2 games against 2 teams with running quarterbacks. Proves you shouldn’t promote people like Tim beck and John p with no experience cause they just get out coached and have no idea what 2 do against good teams with good coaches. Barney finally needs 2 get out and Taylor needs 2 learn 2 play good against good teams and not just Powder Puff teams or change positions. Looking like a ruff rest of the year…

How do you figure? Lets say they win out…..highly doubtful….and win the B1G. With there conference schedule how would you consider that sheepishly?

dihrd
10/7/2012

You can’t be upset with OSU for scoring at the end. They were just playing the game and the game doesn’t end until the clock runs out. We gave up.

StevesdenverSteveSteve
10/7/2012

Gee I don’t know. Maybe the only ranked teams slaughtered us except powerful northwestern assuming they decide to take up chess. Score our game. Pelini hasn’t won a big game. Ohio state and penn state are I eligible. Are you a liberal arts major?

I watched every play. If you look above I dissected the major weaknesses sea apprent tonight as well as the ucla game I witnessed in person. It was a slaughter and it should have been us doing the slaughtering were it not for our continued lame play soup to nuts.

Normally 63 points allowed does not normally equate to 2.8 million dollars.

Pelini is no defensive guru

Stevesdenver
10/7/2012

Pelini is a joke. I held my tongue until this. He is clueless as are 99percent of football coaches. They are the epitome of group thinkers.

Ron Jeremy
10/7/2012

Mods - why don’t you do us all a favor and ban OU7Times? The dude is a Internet troll and trike rider.

NOLA_Husker
10/7/2012

I think the truth is somewhere in between when it comes to Pelini’s defensive prowess. I believe the right recruits make him look better than he is. What coach doesn’t succeed when talent level is extraordinary? Many fail even with talent. I truly think we are seeing the results of the bad recruiting of Pelini’s first two years. All is certainly not lost but this loss certainly makes winning the division seem remote. Pelini will be on the hot seat by the end of this year I believe and next year with a much softer schedule will be make or break for him. Then again this team could implode lose 5 of the next 6 and possibly see him fired. I see another 5-3 conf record which is disappointing to say the least but certainly not a record to get fired for. Sad to see Cosgrovesque numbers though. I’m rambling I know but after 20 hours of airports and flying I’m jet lagged and this loss makes it so much worse. I truly expected them to lose but this game was just embarassing.

bleedhuskerred
10/7/2012

Painful loss…. but its not like we haven’t been beat like this before.. in this day and age its basketball on grass.. and defense’s are having a hard time figuring out how to slow it down must less stop it. Here is an old article from 1992 after a loss to Washington a year earlier http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920916&slug=1513268 yes it was to a higher rated opponent but we still gave up 600 yards of offense and 30+ points now translate that into a game today. The numbers would be unbelievable… I still believe it has to get better

Dwayne
10/7/2012

This game and this loss was not about turnovers or poor play on special teams during recovery. This game wasn’t about Burkhead being injured. This game was about NU’s defense and this defense is horrible when it comes to trying to stop a mobile quarterback. Miller is a very talented player, but… when you look at the rest of OSU’s offense, they are not stacked at all. Everything what happened in that game is exactly what I thought would happen. A good defense should hold an opponent under 20 points. NU’s defense gave up over twice that. NU cannot create disruption along the defensive front. NU cannot create turnovers. And like I mentioned, we do not have the athletic players that can handle shifty runners. I’m tired of hearing the same thing we hear every Spring, “he looks really good in practice,” or “he had a great camp and excellent off-season conditioning.” Screw that. This game only solidified what was very apparent during the first game of the season, our defense is horrible. Let me pose this question. If we were ahead by 4 points with 5 minutes to go and OSU has the ball on their 25 yard line, does anyone think we’re going to stop them? Look at OSU’s drive chart. It doesn’t lie. Year 5 under Pelini and I want to see the program trending upward. Year 5. It has apparently flat-lined. Against big time programs, you know the ones I’m talking about, those which hover around a 20 ranking and higher, we simply do not dominate. I look at K State. K freaking State. They have a top 10 team and they play well in big games. I don’t buy that they’re that good, but they’re in the top 10. K freaking State. Makes me freaking sick.

Dingo
10/7/2012

He idiots, 10 - 2 is still out there. Just sayin’

Bill Callahan
10/7/2012

For you whiners that say they ran up the score, you know you could have actually TACKLED the guy, correct? Bad football team. Real record is 1 and 2 with three patsies. Deal with it.

DTS
10/7/2012

I have been a Husker fan for 20 years and I feel a good coach makes a gameplan based on the opponent their playing each week. Pelini has yet to have his team prepared on the road for a big game. Too many mental mistakes and turnovers are a direct reflection of the coaching staff not having the players prepared or willing to adjust your defense to fit your personnel. I am tired of hearing the same speach from Pelini after each blowout loss.

Like i said before the season started, bo and tmart are over rated. Remember solich and bohl. Both of there teams could problly beat the skers. Solich coaches the u of ohio and bolh is the head coach at north dakota state. The fact is the skers program is going down the crapper and changes need to be made for next season. For sum of the fans thinkin they ran up the score maybe its just that the skers are just that bad.

FrenchyFoosh
10/7/2012

In the 4th qtr this team folded in faster than farmer Fran’s Saturday night best at a Kearney barn dance. Yeesh.

I would disagree with Martinez being overrated. He is a much better QB than the last 2 years. He also had an impressive 9 yard TD run where he got ROCKED!
I think most QB’s couldn’t have made that run. He’s pretty durable.

I have to say that for 3 quarters, that was not a boring game and playing in front of 106k people made it more exciting.

I wonder if Nebraska has plans to bring the stadium up to 100k in the future? Someone guessed that the university would not because it might break their consecutive sellout streak. I wouldn’t monkey anymore with the architecture, myself.

scott
10/7/2012

Will that horrible Neb band please stop screeching after EVERY play. They are just awful and NEVER stop. Joke.

Dwayne
10/7/2012

I don’t know about over or underrated. And I also want to iterate that now is not even the time to consider a coaching replacement. All I’m saying is Pelini has had 5 years to mold this program into his. Over the last 2 or 3 seasons, we’ve seen his defenses perform in the same manner in their inability to stop a mobile qb. Pelini, in my opinion, has had the perfect opportunity to learn from his boss about how to handle adversity, how to handle the media and parlay it into a positive. I think his teams, in big games, reflect a lot of who he is as a person, and a coach. It’s very difficult to perform under the pressure of just playing in a big game, and my perception is that he doesn’t mitigate his team’s pressure of playing well, but adds to it. I think for the program to move forward even in a larger step, he needs to really look inside himself and see how he wants to move forward with the program. The running up the score idea is a moot point in my opinion and Pelini being an OSU alum should understand the tradition of their band and the script “Ohio”. Someone did mention 10-2. That’s totally feasible but my interest isn’t only about wins and losses, it’s about team performance. That defensive performance last night was bad. One can lose a game and still feel decent, in a way, about it. That was ridiculous.

As far as running the score up, yes we did deserve it, period. You have to stop the player with the ball while there is regulation playing time still on the clock, and sorry, but that should have been an easy play to stop.
The video claiming that is the reason for the run up, I would have to first say that the field is for the players, not that band. Plus, I would have to say that section showed lots of class!
Nebraska has to learn how to be a good team again, it has been way to long. I don’t think that Bo knows how to get the team to that point. I think that he is a good coach, but this is something that takes someone with special skills to teach.
It was a slaughter last night, that score does show what happened in the game. When you have 4 turn over’s against a good team you will lose like that every time. Let’s not lose our focus about it. Plus, let’s not lose our class about it either; they beat us in every aspect of the game.
GBR!

Huskers
10/7/2012

The first half was fine but the second half oh man we need to work a lot harder

Jake
10/7/2012

Bo if you want 2 stay as the coach than quit hiring freaking friends and buddies as coaches. Also stop promoting people with no experience and go hire real coaches who know what they are doing

After a great time back at Memorial stadium last saturday to a resounding thud last night. What a coaster ride….... Does anyone know (really know) who the candidates were to replace Callahan and who turned NU down? One could only wonder if Brian kelly had been considered? Pelini 5 yrs, meyer 10 months. All I want to know is will/would experienced college coaches, assistant or otherwise come to NU. Until we know that we can’t knock inexperieced coaching friends that are NU’s assistants now

Coach Houston Nutt turned down Nebraska after a complete fiasco involving a jet sent for him waiting on a runway with Coach Nutt telling NU to get bent. Not positive but I think it invoiced a boosters jet.

Coach Nutt probably realized that Nebraska had just fired a coach who went 9-3 so he figured that was an impossible job with too high of expectations to get involved with. Plus, try to follow after TO didn’t make it too appealing.

People want to coach at Nebraska because of it’s tradition and history. I think several people can be lured away who would be great coaches but the university still needs to keep some of that tradition and history sacred or NU will become just another university.

Pearlman needs to stop giving good money away at an alarming rate. Use contract extensions (as a reward for a job well done)
instead of expecting better results from a coach.

Time to weed out those that do not conform but if it’s a coaching change then offseason is the time to do it.

Pelini has to step up and change how he prepares for big games. Whatever his system is now is pathetic. I can take a loss when the team plays well…but another embarrassment on national tv is getting hard to take.

JerseyHusker
10/7/2012

Not surprised to see so many negative comments today. All the talk about the Husker coaches and players sucking is a bit over the top but they did have some suck moments that deserve some criticism.
As far as firing Bo & Co. Ain’t gonna happen folks, unless the wheels fall completely off, which is doubtful.
Meyer walked into a cream puff situation to a team L

JerseyFatFingerHusker
10/7/2012

LOADED with talent. Talent a step above the current Huskers. We aren’t there yet, and frankly may never be. Dr Tom never was, it came down to development of players we had. Can Bo & Co. do that? Seems to me they are.
Meyer brought his lower class, rub your face in it attitude from the SEC. Get used to him running it up. We won’t be alone in that area.
Embarrassed for the Huskers? Hell no. I’m a fanatic, I love the Huskers. If you’re embarrassed, how do you think some of the players feel today? But tomorrow, the pads go back on, you acknowledge and move forward. You live to fight another day.
And let me tell you, they better get over it and get ready. Division play is what determines their success or failure. Roses can be sniffed, but it ain’t gonna be easy. GBR

Husker fans, it’s time to start listening to the coaches that actually won championships. Charlie McBride’s has been on the radio recently stating that his primary philosophy on defense was SPEED. The Husker D is lacking that immensely. Braxton Miller is special but the guy is 220 lbs. and our LBs were chasing him from behind all night.
Guys like Demorrio Williams and Lavonte David need to be developed at the WILL LB position every year. The Huskers finally were able to beat the Miamis and Florida States by addressing this fact. One final issue, Bill Callahan brought in some athletes to NU. Guy couldn’t coach but could recruit (look at how many Huskers went pro from his recruiting classes). I think the opposite is true with Pelini. Good coach but struggling to get the required defensive talent recruiting wise.

Thanks, I have inside info that says same. Steve Hanway went ape shit when I stated that. He countered with ‘Barry Switzer this and Barry Switzer that…’

It was grand. Yuk, yuk

watterson
10/8/2012

Scott Frost - anyone.

We have no identity. we recruit for all these new asst coaches, and they dont fit the scheme. TO had the option attack, and recruited to that. success. we need an identity. can you tell me what kind of offense we run? i cant. its a little of this and that.

Bubba
10/8/2012

Classless act when your kickers came out on the field while the band did script Ohio. Not even assholes from Michigan would do that.

Captain Bly
10/8/2012

Mr. Hanway, nice article. Commendable. However, like most of the blogs above me, you left out the part about the REAL CULPRIT in this issue…yeah, we are losing patience with Bo and his band of merry “wanna be coaches”, and it hurt to see Martinez play badly until you noticed his offensive line resembled a sieve, and the defensive lack of, well, everything is disheartening as well as embarrassing. It’s a collossal mess to say the least…Jake…right on man…Here’‘s the thing folks…the culprit isn’t Bo…it isn’t the poor recruiting and the inexperienced coaches it boils down to the one fact most of the people in the media don’t seem to want to talk about…it’s on the big shots that run the UofN with their grubby little paws on the purse strings who refuse to understand you do not get the ride of a Cadillac when you drive a Chevy Cavalier!!! POINT: compare the hiring salary of our beloved Bo with that of Nick Saban or Urban-the-prick-Meyer…are you getting it now??? OK, now….compare the results…I rest my case.

sure the hell no blkshirts
10/8/2012

I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!!! I’m disgusted with nebraskas D its has no athlets. Bo can’t recruit and his track record is pathetic against any team that has a mobile qb,and is ranked in the top 5 0ty!!! And finally #3 will never ever win a meaningful game 4 F***ing turnovers u can’t beat any let alone a good team when u turn over the ball that often oh and also the penalties showed up again!!!! From the coaching staff 2 the D and the the QB this nebraska team is a laughing stock when nebraska shows me they care as much as I did maybe ill start planing my time around the NU game again untill such time thoe I’m to flippin buisy to watch thes pathetic efforts!!!!! Save all your crap about my misspelled words and bad english don’t give a shit you all catch my drift!!!!!

Bubba,
I’m sure it’s a combination of not understanding the tradition, i.e. thinking they were wrapping things up, and being at a football game…not a band competition. It’s not like they were punting into the band.

I go back and forth about UM not taking a knee with less than a minute to play, up by three TDs…since 99 out of 100 teams (including classless acts like Mike Leach) would do as much, but you do have to play four quarters. I think I would have countered by running plays and using my timeouts on the next possession though. The more classless thing was the two head shots on Martinez and the three blatant facemask tackles…not grab the facemask and let go, but bring the guy all the way to the ground facemasks. Kenny Bell is lucky his neck isn’t broken after being flipped by his helmet. Obviously the douchbaggery trickles down from coach to players at OSU - now I get why Michigan hates this team so much.

Pelini better figure out how to get this team to play some defense. I want to know what happened after the first quarter…did we stop bringing pressure? I didn’t notice us bringing it as much after that quarter…and Michigan State has proven time and time again, that constant pressure is the best strategy for getting to a mobile QB. Sure you might get beat with a great pass down field from time to time, but better than getting run around, over, and through for three quarters.

bleedhuskerred
10/8/2012

Hit the nail on the head mase! I was absolutely shocked those osu players where not ejected from the game after those face mask penalties.. and if i was UM they would have been sitting on the bench.. shows how classy “the ohio state” coaching staff is…. anything to win? UM will get his…

bottlefinger
10/8/2012

He’s not a head coach. He’s immature and hot headed. He has no cool and he has no idea after a loss… the same words…the same results. He’s a different form of a Callahan. He can’t do the job as head coach, just like callahan couldn’t. He hires lesser beings so he is still the el supremo and they are at a loss when the big boys come to town and he…has no answers. After 5 years, and still have no answers, maybe your contribution is complete. He got us back on board, we all care about Big Red again and now its going the other way. Martinez is like his boss, they have great contributions but when placed up against a REAL opponent, there are mistakes the reoccur…penalties, fumbles, interceptions….and both have moments of brilliance but its a game played for 4 full quarters….moments are just moments and I think this moment has at best one more year.

A few observations after attending the game:
1) Ohio Stadium was pretty nice
2) Ohio State’s band was as good as advertised
3) Ohio State’s fans were 95% cool. The other 5% were a bunch of douche nozzles. Some behavior in the stands just flat out wouldn’t be tolerated by fellow Nebraska fans in Lincoln… including smoking cigarettes and drinking during the game (not to mention trying to provoke fights). Stay classy, Buckeye fans.
4) Nebraska was FAR athletically superior to OSU at most positions… but the few exceptions to that (linebacker) were glaring.
5) The turnover margin deficiency that has plagued the Pelini era HAS to be fixed, or things will never improve.

Andrew
10/8/2012

In response to our boys spoiling their ‘Script Ohio,’ it might not be AS big of a deal (depending on who you ask), but I can think of a few teams running out while Nebraska’s doing their tunnel walk. I’m actually impressed when teams respect it and wait till it’s over to come out.

First, the band thing. That band is sacred - and Script Ohio is the most sacred of the things they do. You don’t mess with it. Bo would know this as well as anyone - which is why I’m sure he had no knowledge it was going on. I have never seen or heard of anyone doing that. Unprecedented as far as I know. If you have ever been to a college game, the kickers are out there 2 hours before kickoff practicing. If they don’t get enough, when the teams come back out on the field, I guess they could do some more kicking, but I’ve never seen them do that. So, the whole thing is really odd. That said, that is not why the score was run up. I’d be shocked if the OSU knew it had happened.

No one can argue with the first 53 points unless they are idiots. That last score happened within the last minute. Tressel would have knelt on the ball for sure. Tressel’s OC would have started kneeling on it, in a practical sense, when the score was 35-31, and we would have lost the game 38-31. :) So, I was glad to see them put the pedal to the metal. But I do have to say that I think there was a message in that last TD. It could have been something between Bo and Urban going back to their SEC days, but my best guess would be that the message was, “We are the best team in the BIG right now, and we are only going to be better the next time you see us.” For me, I would have preferred they knelt on the ball, but they didn’t throw the ball in the 4th qtr, and they weren’t running reverses. It was basic run stuff, and Nebraska had some obligation to stop it.

The face mask: Bell put his hands in the face mask of 2 players on that run. For some reason, it is not a penalty when offensive players do it. He did it on Sabino for the last 10 yards. Defensive players will bring a player down by whatever they have a hold of to keep them from scoring.

“4) Nebraska was FAR athletically superior to OSU at most positions… but the few exceptions to that (linebacker) were glaring.” Uh, OK. If that’s what you saw.

There have been some comments that “Miller is all they have. Better hope he doesn’t get hurt.” Well, of course, he is a special talent. But Hyde was the BIG OPOTW and I seem to recall Corey “Philly” Brown having a pretty good night along with our TE’s.

I liked Nebraska’s defensive approach in the first quarter. They were setting the edges hard and playing lanes up the middle. OSU aided them by not wanting to run Miller in the first. When he did burn them, that took their aggressiveness away, and then OSU trucked them on the ground.

Both defenses have a lot to be desired. Really, that was terrible both ways. At Ohio State we are used to a defense that allows 13 a game. This will take some getting used to. Part of it is the up-tempo offense and the spread. You wear defenses out with that. But there are some significant weaknesses and holes in both of those defenses.

Finally, Ohio State had an effective offense for 3 qtrs. We had only been seeing it for 1 qtr or 2 or just for short spurts. We could see how expolosive they could be, and wondered what would happen if they were on fire for 4 qtrs. They are getting closer.

BTW… I was really genuinely worried for both OSU and N at the end of that game. Miller (and Martinez) had NO business being in that game for the last 5 minutes… and that had nothing with “running up the score”.

This isn’t bragging. I don’t have anything to do with recruiting. I don’t have anything to do with Ohio State other than being a fan. But Ohio State has had the best athletes and talent in the conference for at least a decade. Michigan is coming back and will be on a par with them after a couple more recruiting cycles. Those 2 schools had 20 of the top 30 recruits in the BIG. No other school had more than 2. Those 2 schools get the 4 and 5 star guys and then fill in with a few 3 stars. The other BIG schools rarely get the 5 star guys, less 4 stars, and more 3’s and 2’s. Recruiting and ratings are not sciences, but you do tend to get better talent on the 4 and 5 end of the scale. If you are getting more of the 3’s and 2’s, it puts a premium on coaching and player development. Often JC transfers help.

Bill’s comment was interesting because I don’t hear that alleged very often.

I think the Legends will come down to Michigan and Nebraska. If Martinez limits mistakes, I like them to be right there at the end.

NicknNash
10/8/2012

Huskers you are being too hard on yourselves. I know the feeling when a game gets away from you as a hand-full of plays can do. I was part of the Fla BCS run away. Still flash-backs. You’re a good football team still with the leading shot at the title. OSU can only watch. Sorry about the last score, as a knee would have been more Tressel-like and better without question. I caught just a glimpse on that play walking back into the room with an arm full of beers but it looked like a dive play into the line the RB bounced to the outside. I am guessing it surprised Meyers as well, but again a knee was in order. No doubt Neb had relaxed at that point. There will be many more great games between us that will be great to see and we are still tied, 1-1.

bleedhuskerred
10/8/2012

@Winosu i agree with alot of what you said but i dont argee with that facemask simply because it wasnt the first one Saturday night. I believe i counted two or three before the kenny bell one.. i believe kenny bell was upset and stiff armed the hell out of those guys. At nebraska we know all too well about facemask penalties.. see the famous eric crouch facemask at Kansas state. Yes i argee you want to stop the guy from scoring but im not breaking someones neck over it.

bleedhuskerred
10/8/2012

@Nicknnash thanks for the cheering up.. we as fans want so badly to back with the nations elite.. to were we are feared and respected again.. its hard to feel that way after taking such a beating Saturday.. we didnt just lose we were embarrassed.. i think i speak for all husker fans when i say we just want to be nebraska again..

Having played a little DB in the day, it’s rare that a player will intentionally grab a mask, but if that’s all you got and the player is going to score if you let go, you jerk him down and take your penalty.

But if there was a little malice in that play, all I was saying that the fact that Bell’s stiffarm consisted of grabbing Sabino’s mask and riding that way for 10 yards probably had something to do with how Bell got taken down.

NicknNash
10/8/2012

@bleedhuskerred. It is coming. Remember even todays powerful Alabama took a while to reload. Your focus is now Northwestern and the rest of the season. Don’t egg your players homes like Georgia fans did after South Carolina game. Your players wanted it bad also. Just as I did against Fla.

‘Classy’ or it’s derivatives is a term that should not be used in describing a team or coaches play. That term is highly overused (especially on this website) and is not an appropriately used description. Fine, use it to describe fan bases but in a game where people sell out to stop people from scoring, no way. With all the Hitting,slamming, snot knocking hits and ball grabbing (aTm) and you want to use words like ‘classy’...really?

Let’s all have and agreement that as long as there is one second left on the clock it is your duty to play 60 minutes and the best team wins. Since when should players on either side decide that they are going to stop scoring or stop defending when time is on the clock? All of our teams have done it and we will keep doing it in the future so why bother about it.

Nebrask’s second string attempted an ‘icing’ touchdown at the very end of the Arkansas St. game this year and I didn’t hear any Husker fans comment about that. The second string was going full out to try to score and fumbled the ball away at the goal line, so let’s not get all righteous.

If you can score then score. If you can’t, or decide not to defend, then that’s ‘your team’s problem.

Maybe this is karma coming back to bite Bo in the ass for benching a consitant Qb in his senior year (Zack Lee) and start a Qb that makes bad desisions and cant through the ball STILL

spaceman spiff
10/9/2012

We need to get more injuries in practice.

You play like you practice. We need hard hitting in practice. we need to have them with refs for holding in practice. we need to have games be a let up from the week.

what do you think. practice harder.

greg9
10/9/2012

Ever think that Ohio st. Is just a better team, we played a better team and ee lost? ????? Move on wory bout nxt game

NOLA_Husker
10/9/2012

greg9 - I think the reason for such worry is the way they lost. OSU didn’t come into the game looking like world beaters but they came out and dominated. The defense looks bad and Pelini is supposed to be a D guy at heart. I really want the Pelini to succeed but games like this make me think maybe he can’t get us to where we want. He’s ten times the coach Bill C was and I’m glad he pulled us from the darkness of those years but serious changes need to be made.

John
10/9/2012

Bo Pelini needs to hire proven assistaint coaches if he wants to give no name coaches their start in the business then go do it a san fransisco community college Bo Pelini head coaching ability is not that good or strong to be able to manage a whole coaching staff full of first time coordinators and assistants

John
10/9/2012

Bo Should have gone after Mark Mangino and Mike Stoops, Coaches that could have helped mentor Papuchis, Beck, Els, Fisher, Ganz and the rest of the staff

I don’t know if you guys watched Inside CFB on CBSports last week but Randy Cross told the story of taking his recruiting visit to Lincoln. It was Jan and Cross got off the plane into below zero temps. He said Osborn told him later, “I looked at your face when that cold hit you, and I knew you were not coming to Nebraska.”

BIG schools have that winter factor to overcome. Tough to sell bitter cold and 2 feet of snow to south Fla kids. I think a rich football tradition and cosmopolitan city helps.

I love Lincoln - have stayed there several times on trips out west. Really nice town. Champaign, Bloomington, Iowa City, are similar types of towns. Columbus, Minneapolis, and especially Chicago, are big cities that offer everything that big cities offer - good and bad. But I think those places have some advantage with recruits. Nebraska has the rich tradition but not the big city. I think you have to attract at least a handful of those SE, west coast, and Texas athletes to recruit at a high level.

Schools that are close to HS football hotbeds also have a big advantage. Ohio and Pa are prime recruiting spots. Michigan, MSU, OSU, and PSU have that advantage. Nebraska has to pull a lot kids out of their home region - which is a tougher row to hoe.

Point is that “It’s not the x’s and o’s, it’s the Jimmys and Joes.” You have to have those guys in quantity and quality or it makes the coaching that much harder. I think that is the challenge for Bo. He has to build something, like Osborne had in another era, where some of the best players in the country want to go there regardless of the reasons that may exist for kids to not go there. That will take some time.

Not saying that Nebraska does not have good players. They do. But that recruiting thing affects how many good ones you have and the depth of talent. Mich and OSU are going to have elite talent 2 and 3 deep. Over time, that is hard to compete with.

I would hope that OSU Players would at least have to remove a buckeye from their helmets for the Flagrant, Deliberate, and vicious Facemasks, Personal fouls, and obvious attempts to cause injuries. None of those fouls were inadvertant, the late hits weren’t tackles, they were head shots taken well after the ball was thrown or the whistle blew, the facemasks were deliberate and vixcious.
OSU won the game, but you sure don’t have anything to be proud of.

Have I lived away from Lincoln for too many years to understand the shift change in the attitude in Nebraska? What happened to the day that we would take a loss and clap for the other team? Am I really sitting here reading so many comments about how cheap OSU is because of facemask penalties? Like no NU player has ever taken more than one cheap shot in a game, and some of them even get away with it? OSU better be proud of that win, which is how you show respect for the football team that I follow. They took the Huskers to a game and showed them how to play 4 full quarters of football. I would go to say that Urban Meyer had a great game plan, if you watch the first quarter and then the other 3; you will notice Braxton didn’t attempt to run that much in the first quarter, which took the sting out of the defense. The second quarter he was ready to light them up, and that he did. Think about what he did in just 3 quarters. Running up the score isn’t popular in Nebraska, especially when it happens to us, but I don’t think that we have anything to complain about, it isn’t like we haven’t dished that out a time or two over the last 50 years, intentionally or not.
WinOSU, I would say that in the past we have been very successful in building certain parts of our team from in state boys. We don’t get that as much as we use to, the corn feed offensive lines of the past were some of the best. We would get the majority of our speed from people that were overlooked by other colleges and bring them in for what we needed. It was a system that worked well for Tom. So there you are right, we need Bo to learn how to do just that. You will hear a bunch of complaining about Martinez and how horrible of a passer he is, but the truth is we have never truly had a great passer in our mix either. We brought him here to do just what he is doing, complete high percentage passes when possible and run. He has done that to this up to this point this year, and with the exception of OSU, he has been successful, so in my books, he had a bad night. Even Superman has a bad night! We are not a pro style team that is why I think we should fit better into the B1G then we do.
We didn’t beat the Florida’s and Miami with speed, we beat them with physicality. We met them at the line, and smashed them before they could take two steps. Frazier was fast, but in comparison, he wasn’t the fast person on the field. Tom used their physical size to take away the speed, and proper coverage to compliment the style, it took a long time to figure that out, but it worked.
Bo needs to learn how to make this team feel like a great team again, that is what he is lacking from Tom. That is a skill set that is mastered over time, as each team is different than last year.
I will apologize for the script piece, however, I will stand my ground that the field is for the players not the band. If Maher felt he needed the extra time to practice, then that is his right, as they won’t delay the game for him to get ready.
Now, let’s get on with it already! We have the other NU that we have to deal with, and I don’t want to see the same thing happen again that happened last year!

Totally agree with everything. We lose and suddenly the other team is classless and has nothing to be proud of. C’mon. Grow up.

I just realized that the Script Ohio “offence” occured at half, not the pregame. That changes things. I do not believe Maher knew the importance of that ritual, and I do not believe there was anything intentional about it. Just ignorance of how sacred some things are to Ohio State fans.

But I will reiterate that for Nebraska to compete with scUM in the Legends and Ohio State for the BIG, Bo will have to recruit like those programs are recruiting.

Tony D
10/9/2012

That last OSU TD might have been pay back for the Huskers total disrespect of a great Buckeye tradition—Script Ohio. The Nebraska kickers came onto the field and practiced right in tne middle of it all.
Who does this? The Huskers might be reminded that they lost by a lot more than a few field goals. At least the Buckeyes didn’t pass. They should have run that freshman running back again for another TD.

Look Nebraska fans, here’s the deal.
We all let the whiners win once. We traded Solich for Callahan.
I don’t think I have to elaborate on how that all turned out do I?
So we have Pelini, whom we hired and turned the football program
Around in 1 YEAR!!!. Yes, we were still in the Big 12, which isn’t
So BIG anymore is it? Oh yeah, no one cried fowl when Colorado
Left for the PAC 10. But when Nebraska left for the BIG 10, oh how
The mighty trembled!!!!

Pelini took us to Conference Championship Games in his first two
Years as head coach of Nebraska. We lost those games by 3 points
And 1 second. You remember. If you are a true Nebraska fan, you
Remember.

You all saw the Texas A&M game where it started off with a Cadet
Not knowing the difference between a Football, or Cotton Balls!!!!!
If you are a true Nebraska Fan, you remember!!! So here we are in
The cream of all college football. Having risen from our dark days
Of the 1940s and the 1950’s where even our head coach at the time
Was called up for military service. Yes, here we are in the B1G.
Or, well, at least, that is what the kids are calling it these days. The
B1G!!! We have arrived. Do you think they extended this invite
Blithely?

Pelini has already fired one assistant coach. Watson. Who thought
It best to keep our injured freshman quarterback in the game against
Oklahoma for the Conference Championship. He brought up Beck,
And Taylor Martinez is now “enjoying” his first year with the same
Offense he was in charge of last year. Except this is his THIRD year
With our team.

Pelini brought up Papuchis, to be our defensive coordinator. Who has
Already avenged the embarrassing loss to Wisconsin last year and who
Has held lesser opponents to low scores even though the defense he is
Implementing is a hybrid of the one Pelini established. Why is this?
Because when Pelini was brought in, it was to solve the problem with
Our anorexic defense. But he was brought in to be our Head COACH!
Not our Defensive Coordinator, no. Not our bridge to the B1G, no!!!
Our Head Coach.

Pelini has made great strides in both bringing us back to the prominence
We enjoyed once before in the B12, but to transition us to the conference
That he once himself played in, the Big 10!!!. You know, the Western
Conference, for those of you who are old enough to remember!!!

We have Iowa as our last game. This was not always the case, but it once
Was the case that we played Iowa every year!! When did that stop? 1903!
Yes, Iowa was once in our conference with us, but they had to make a
Decision when pressed. They chose to go with the “Western Conference.”
This would be the conference that would become the Big 10.

Yes, we are UNDEFEATED against the four horsemen of Notre Dame.
Yes, we are the winningest football program of the last 50 years! Yes,
We are Giants now. We were once Giants amongst non-giants. Now
We have the ability to become Giants, amongst Giants!!!!.

Nebraska beat Wisconsin this year. A team that we got blown out by
Last year due to three interceptions and a first year offense. Nebraska
Beat Ohio State, one of the PILLARS or TWIN TOWERS of the B1G
In its first year. The largest come from behind Victory in the History
Of the University of Nebraska Football, which of course, started playing
Football about 10 years before the conclusion of the SPANISH AMERICAN
WAR!!!!

Oh but we lost in a blowout to the WINNINGEST FOOTBALL PROGRAM
OF ALL TIME in Michigan. Whoopty freaking do!!!

Oh but we lost to Northwestern at HOME!!! The last time Northwestern
Beat Nebraska, Woodrow WILSON was President of the United States!!!

Oh but we lost to Ohio St. @ Columbus by 63 to 38!!!!! Ok, fine. But the
38 points Nebraska put up on them, IN THEIR HOME STADIUM!!!
Represents the largest amount of points that an opponent has scored on
Ohio St in their home stadium in 2 and a half DECADES!!!!!

So now I am hearing that we need a new coach at Nebraska. A new
Head Coach. ROFLMAO!!!!

Were I Bo Pelini. Were I Bo Pelini. Once again for clarity. Where I
Bo Pelini… One last time for those who are COMPLETELY without
The power of observation!!!! Where I Bo Pelini, I would, yes, RELAX!
For if it be, the powers that be, the will of this Husker Nation to say, you
Have not done enough for us. I would laugh. I WOULD LAUGH!!!!!!!!
And then, I would say, with all the sincerity that a human heart can muster,
“If you want me, to turn around a program in 1 year, then compete for a
Conference Championship the next two years, then change Conferences,
Fire my offensive Coordinator, hire a new Defensive Coordinator, and
Take a freshman quarterback and make him an expert on our offense in
1 year? Well then, you just sit right there in your chair, Nebraska fan, I
Will go in back and get THE WAND!!!!!

BigRedNOkc
10/10/2012

I just have to say Johnny Nebraska,

Wow.
{Stands up and claps}
Well said, sir. So many negative comments can wear on you after time, and it felt really good to read this. I myself was a little disappointed with Coach P, but when I saw him in an interview today he looked really embarrassed and disgusted. He looked and sounded fed up. He looks like he is ready to take this team the rest of the way, and ‘til the end I will be there. “if we should win, let it be by the code, with faith and honor held high, and if we should lose we’ll stand by the road, and cheer as the winners go by.” GBR, sir, GBR!

TimG
10/11/2012

OSU didn’t screw up up the tunnel run last year. Why screw up script ohio? Talk about class-less.

as an osu fan i have been reading alot of your comments what sticks out is running up the score thing… i had alot of respect for husker fans going into the game and still do (maybe a little less) its not ohio states job to stop ohio state.. if that makes us classless then thats one opinion…. what would nebraska kickers be for disrepecting our tradition of script ohio. our field is for our band not just the players (im not even a band nerd)btw i went out of my way to make nebraska fans feel welcome to cbus last sat ...good luck the rest of the year .. decent quarterback.. coach sucks..

How is a kicker warming up on the opposite end of the field “disrespecting” the tradition, exactly?

mark
10/11/2012

if i need to explain u may never understand… i bet 70,000 people get there early to watch the band march out during pregame…. iknow we pack st john arena (about 18,000 seats 1hour before the game i didnt leave my seat the whole game so my 80 dollar ticket u get the best damn band in the land for free .... u see u dont have to under stand…. we dont care ..... just stay off the field while we do OHIO STATE!

I’m not a band person. I could generally not care whether a band shows up or not. I’m there to see a football game - whether we are talking HS or any other level. So, I get the whole “the field is for the football players” thing.

And that all applies - except in the case of TBDBITL. The first time I saw that band march through that tunnel and do their pre-game stuff, a tingle went up my spine - and that has continued to happen each time they do it. They are an exceptional group, and like I say, that band and what they do is sacred to every Ohio State fan. It does not have to be sacred to any other school, but when you show disrespect for the sacred, people tend to become like Shiite terrorists who have had their mosque desecrated. :)

What Maher did was unprecedented. Has never happened before that I am aware of. The field is for football EXCEPT when that small amount of time has been designated for that band. I will grant the kicker the excuse of ignorance. I’m sure it will never happen again.

Michigan’s banner is sacred. One year Ohio State players tore it down. Hasn’t happened again.

Yoda
10/12/2012

The Huskers Coach’s … Have lost the ability to put together a game plan against a formidable opponent, let alone modify it during the game. The Ohio game as well the UCLA game brought the game plan direct front and center. The offensive line could not pass block or protect Martinez if they were allowed to hold and each pass play…

When something isn’t working and you keep running the same ole play and expect different results… Well!!! How many screen passes did Taylor throw?? How many traps and misdirection off tackle runs were there?? Tradition be damned, the game plan should be solid and flexible. What ever happened to scouting your opponent and actually WORKING on a game plan with sensible optional and audibles??

The failure of the Huskers is the COACHING on BOTH sides of the ball… It is a shame that a good coach (not necessarily great) can exploit the Huskers on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Nebraska’s So so Coaches need to go back to basics, or take the time to teach and practice the complex mind game the coaches WANT played… The Players don’t go onto the field to lose or play poorly, individual pride needs to become TEAM pride… Maybe the coaches should allow Taylor Martinez and Will Compton to setup the game plan and call the plays as they see the game unfold!!
Just say’n
Yo

BUCKEYE MIKE
10/12/2012

Yoda, Ohio is coached by Frank Solich, get your teams straight. So Urban isn’t a great coach? He has won everywhere including two national championships in 5 years. I’ll take that kind of GOOD? any day. Enjoy Bo, there’s some IAA schools you haven’t beaten yet.

Buckeye Mike, are you really coming on our message boards to talk like that? Really enjoy Bo? The same coach that beat Ohio State last year? It’s ok to enjoy your victory, but its better when you don’t gloat about it.
I can take plenty with my Huskers, but don’t come here or anywhere else and disrespect them because you beat them in one game, that is no better than most lower tier teams that beat a big school!

The skers got beat badly and it was embarasing but really none of the teams in the big 10 are all that great

Tareq
10/14/2012

I never thought Bo is going to bring back the old days, or even come close. This is a program that (at one point in time) had the best football team in the history of college football. Bo is not going to take the Huskers anywhere, not this year, not in ten years. He’s got to go right now. This is disgusting, pathetic and sad.

Buckeye Mike
10/15/2012

Ruggerhusker, I responded to some stupid comments made by husker fans. Huskers were fortunate last year as Braxton got hurt and the buckeyes were poorly coached. If you think tOSU is a lower tier team, then you don’t know anything about football. By the way, weren’t two of your wins against 1AA schools?

Buckeye Mike,
If you notice there are many Husker Fans that don’t talk along those lines, and I am one of them, but I will not take our team being disrespected on our own boards. We are not a Purdue or Iowa team, and demand respect, in a loss or win. This team has proven they are in the top tier and have the championships/wins to prove it. My comment wasn’t pointed at who we beat or played, but how OSU fans act after beating us.
Last year’s game is debatable, will not argue that Braxton getting hurt helped us to win, but not necessarily the only reason we won. If you noticed that game had already started to turn prior to him going out of the game.

GBR!

Buckeye Mike
10/15/2012

Ruggerhusker, I feel the same way about someone disrespecting my team, and I don’t care what board it is on. I have lived in Lincoln for 31 years, and I have had good experiences and bad experiences with Husker fans. When a husker fan disrespects my team by calling them OHIO, (As Yoda did)I will call them out on that. If they bad mouth our coach, I will call them out on that also. The main reason OSU lost last year was our backup QB who should have not been allowed to dress for the game, he was that bad.

This whole “respect” thing is big on message boards. Here’s what I think: Being respectable begins with respecting yourself. Then you have to earn the respect of others by the way you play and by beating them. Once those 2 things are in place, you don’t care whether you are respected or not. :)

The Buckeyes are 7-0. That’s pretty impressive. They also gave up 38 to Nebraska and 49 to Indiana - which makes me want to puke. Until they show that they have some defensive testosterone, they will be subject to people saying they aren’t that good - that they are another WVU - that it’s just a weak non-con and a weak BIG. And you know what? I don’t have proof that it isn’t those things. I would submit that it appears we have one brilliant player who atones for the magnificent sins and weaknesses of other aspects of the team.

BUCKEYE MIKE
10/15/2012

Do you think Fickell is the problem or have the coaches poorly evaluated the linebackers who have been brought in the last two seasons? I thought Curtis Grant would be ready to break out this year, and he is 3rd string as of today. I would put true freshmen out there like Shazier was last year, and see what they can do.

That D line is very talented and deep - yet there are huge running lanes at times and no pressure on the QB.

I understand the LB problem. They were thin to begin with, but Grant still doesn’t get it, and Sabino is out for a month. The surest sign of desperation - they play Z Boren at LB and he lead the team in tackles!

The secondary is a 50/50 group. They can make 2 great plays and then get burned on the 3rd.

I think you have to hold Fickell/Withers and then Vrabel and Coombs responsible. It’s impossible to know where the trouble is. I say have 1 DC and then hold that guy responsible - and work down from there. But that was embarrassing this past Sat night.

BUCKEYE MIKE
10/15/2012

I liked the look earlier this year when Nate Williams played some middle linebacker in certain situations. He looks like the middle LB the buckeyes have been known for. The defense is not aggressive throughout the game, and guys are out of position. Maybe they should dumb down the play book and get some freshmen out there. Can’t be any worse.

Have to agree tereq. Bo needs to go. The skers havnt been a top tier team in over ten years and that is the past and this is now. The skers are the laughing stock of the big ten next to wisconsin. The program is a joke. In fact id rather watch the ladys volleyball team instead, and buckeymike id like to see a matchup between Ohio and Ohio state. I bet it would be a closer game then u think.

Well, since we know Ohio would score (who doesn’t against us), it would be interesting. Still, Ohio squeeked by an improving, but still bad, Akron team this past weekend. Don’t think that one would go too well for Coach Solich - but you never know.

BUCKEYE MIKE
10/16/2012

Admiral, I know Frank Solich is a good coach and Ohio is playing well. My only comment about OHIO was me correcting a Husker fan who was imitating Brady Hoke at Mischicken and calling tOSU Ohio. I would like to see Ohio Play NU, that would be an interesting game.

to BUCKEYE MIKE
Can’t help but admire your staunch allegiance to your Ohio STATE Buckeyes… Sorry, didn’t realize Ohio in my reference would put a bur under anyone’s saddle blanket forgive the error of my ways…

As for your critique of my original post, I see you got lost in your looking for something to argue about or to take acceptation too the point of my topic completely missed it’s mark with you..

As for saying Urban is a good coach, I believe I never mention Urban in that context, I had moved on to say it was easy for anyone with basic coaching skills to out fox Nebraska on both sides of the line of scrimmage, again lost on the narrow straw to which you are quick to jump on…

Ohio STATE is the better team and one of the best in the Big 10, and acquiring Urban Myer will only pay dividends down the road.. I hope he stays healthy and continues to find the balance between having a life and coaching college football… Recruiting just got a lot harder in the Big 10 ;)

Chill out BUCKEYE MIKE, my intent was aimed at your or your Ohio STATE Buckeyes…
Yoda